Mike Dawes

One of the world's best acoustic guitarists (just ask Total
Guitar and Music Radar), Mike Dawes has made fans globally with
his exciting and inviting brand of fingerstyle, percussive
guitar. He first gained prominence on YouTube with millions of
views for solo arrangements such as Metallica's "One", 
Gotye's "Someone That I Used to Know", Van Halen's "Jump", his
own tune "The Impossible" and others.  He has gone on to
team up with players like Tommy Emmanuel, Periphery, Nick
Johnston, Plini and more for collaborative, worldwide tours and
videos.  Greg and Mike took a break from both of their busy
touring schedules for this episode of Gristle!

3:49 - Growing up Guildford
8:33 - The exhaustion only kicks in when the touring stops, days
off
13:13 - Doing everything yourself vs hiring out control of your
career, and the importance of touring / building an
audience
23:58 - The Music Industry in a post-COVID world
25:04 - Ben Lacy, creative fingerstyle, and Mike’s own virtuosic
chops 
32:18 - How Mike works on timing as a solo player
37:44 - What inspired Mike to originally pick up the guitar
42:39 - The passing of the late, great EVH, and surviving COVID
lockdown (mentally and fiscally)
49:50 - The digital age, guitar, AI, and how everything moves
forward
64:14 - Being true to oneself as an artist and performer

Total Length: 76:30